EU defies carbon trade war threats

The threat of a trade war will not make the European Union back down on climate legislation, Connie Hedegaard, the bloc’s climate chief, said on Tuesday following pressure from foreign governments who want the EU to drop plans to charge airlines for carbon emissions.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Ms Hedegaard, the commissioner for climate action, said the bloc was determined to work with the US, China and other nations to reach an international agreement to curb airlines’ emissions.

But she also sought to make clear that commercial threats would not sway Brussels, saying: “You can’t threaten a trade war just because you don’t like European legislation”…